The Washington Coliseum, formerly Uline Arena, is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. located at 1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C. It was the site of the first concert by The Beatles in the United States.

History

The 11,000-seat[2] Uline Ice Arena, which opened in February 1941, was built by Miguel L. "Uncle Mike" Uline for his ice hockey team, the Washington Lions of the now defunct Eastern Amateur Hockey League.[] Uline built the arena next to his ice business,[2] in which he had made his fortune. The first act at the new arena was Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revue.[3] Another of its earliest events was a pro-America rally in 1941 designed to promote U.S. entry into World War II, just weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor[] brought the United States into the war on December 7, 1941. During the war, Uline repurposed the arena as a housing facility for U.S. service members.[4]

Jewelry wholesaler Harry G. Lynn bought the arena in 1959 for $1 million.[8] In 1959, Elijah Muhammad gave a speech there,[9][10] and Malcolm X once spoke there as well.[2] In 1960, Lynn renamed the building the Washington Coliseum.[8]

Beatles concert

On February 11, 1964, The Beatles played their first concert in the United States at the Washington Coliseum,[11] less than 48 hours after the band's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Tickets to the show at the Coliseum ranged from $2 to $4. There were 8,092 fans at the concert, which was opened by The Chiffons, The Caravelles, and Tommy Roe. The Beatles opened with "Roll Over Beethoven."[12] In 2014, Roe reflected that "the marquee didn't say anything about the other acts. It just said 'The Beatles.' It was all about them. But I wasn't offended. That's just the way it worked. I was there to do my two songs and then get off the stage."[13] The Beatles played for approximately 40 minutes.[]

Washington Caps - ABA

The American Basketball Association's defending championship team, the Oakland Oaks, moved to Washington and played as the Washington Caps during the 1969-1970 season. The Oaks were owned by entertainer Pat Boone and had captured the ABA Championship in the 1968-69 season. However, Boone subsequently sold the team to Earl Foreman due to poor attendance in Oakland. Foreman relocated the franchise to Washington.[17] Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Larry Brown played for the Caps, with Brown leading the league in assists and Barry averaging 27 points per game.[18] The team finished 44-40 and was eliminated by the Denver Rockets in the playoffs. Plagued by poor attendance, the franchise relocated again and became the Virginia Squires following their one season in the Washington Coliseum.[18]

The site today

The building still stands today near Union Station in the NoMa neighborhood, which formerly was known as Swampoodle. In 2015, outdoor retailer REI announced that it would develop the property into its fifth flagship store and first store in Washington, D.C.[25] In addition to the 51,000-square-foot (4,738-square-meter) REI store, plans called for the fully redeveloped site also to house 146,200 square feet (13,582 square meters) of office space and an additional 17,000 square feet (1,579 square meters) of retail space for other users. The REI store opened on October 21, 2016,[26] with a marching band [27] and other festivities, as the largest REI store on the United States East Coast.[4] In April 2017 Spaces, a co-working brand based in Luxembourg, became the second tenant taking over 34,000 square feet of office space. Spaces Co-working is a subsidiary of Regus who is owned by International Workplace Group.